By Devi Poojari Updated: Jul 16, 2024
Advocating a plant-based lifestyle being key to her fitness journey, the actress spoke about how Indian cuisine was one of the most well-rounded cuisines across the globe when it comes to nutritional value. The panel – which also included vegan mountaineer Kuntal Joisher and actor Arvind Krishna, discussed how plant-based diets can aid in a better fitness journey.
Jacqueliene Fernandez – who has been a long-standing advocate of following a plant-based lifestyle, recently made her presence felt at the Vegan India Conference – touted to be India’s largest plant-based conference. In its 3rd annual edition, the actress featured on a panel of speakers, alongside actor Arvind Krishna and the world’s first vegan mountaineer – Kuntal Joisher. Speaking about how their fitness journeys were closely tied to following a lifestyle that largely comprised of clean, vegan eating, the actress shared that she believed in consuming an Indian diet, which, according to her is one of the healthiest types of diets to follow.
Elaborating on her statement further, she said, “I think there are a lot of misconceptions and people can confuse quantity control, the amount of carbs you’re packing on to your plate, the oil that you’re using – are you using good or bad oils? The Indian diet has numerous amounts of superfoods, turmeric and moringa have become such a big deal in the West; even amla, which is such a basic fruit over here has huge amounts of vitamin C and these are parts of our everyday diet.” Jacqueliene went on to further state that she believed that if approached the right way, it could be the best diet and the best meal one can consume.
The Vegan India Conference, which was held in Mumbai on 6th and 7th July, touched upon important conversations such as the future of food and beverage, the future of lifestyle and health as well as India’s intersection of alternatives for food, material and technology. Featuring personalities from across various food and food adjacent industries to helm discussions over a span of two days, the conference also provided a platform for plant-based businesses to share their experiences and growth at various stages.